“Sustainability is working with suppliers very close to us, limiting vehicle travel, not going to get a product abroad or even from outside the region, no matter how good it is.” He has brought a new star to Emilia by making true local cuisine, and now he talks about his philosophy: interview with Mattia Trabetti of Alto, which focuses on 100 percent Made in Modena.
Photos by Fabrizio Cicconi
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That Mattia Trabetti of Alto might take the stage in Modena on November 5 was in the air: so it happened. Chef and restaurant have already been recounted on these pages, and it certainly was no surprise, especially since the concert action around the restaurant on the fourth floor of the comfortable Executive hotel in Fiorano, from where the 'music' of Ferrari engines can be heard crisply, has always been well thought out.
Mattia, from Negrar in Veneto region of Italy, born in 1989, is -as he describes himself - a fairly shy guy: “I've never posed as a rock star, and I certainly don't intend to do so now. I'm always in the kitchen, I love being in nature, with my dogs. Basically, the love of the outdoors is what we try to convey here, along with a concept of healthy cooking." We had a chat with him, around the good time he is having and Alto's present.
Did you anticipate getting a Michelin star?
It was definitely something we always wanted, but we didn't stake everything on the idea of getting it alone, what fills us with pride is the very meaning of the star “worth the stop,” because that's what we've always dreamed of: we started this project first and foremost to promote the territory, and this year we finally managed to create a menu, Modena Safari, truly 100 percent made in Modena; we did the same with Emilia Vegetale, expanding the radius on Emilia alone.
The star could have been a milestone, of course, but to have achieved it this year is an unparalleled stimulus toward the work we are doing. When the email arrived, I re-read it two or three times, because I wasn't sure, it was just an invitation to the event, so until the moment when you hear your name and are called to go on stage, nothing is certain. We went to Modena in total peacefulness, because no matter what would have come, it was still going to be a great satisfaction, but then when it arrived, and it was really the red one, the feeling was beyond words.
What has changed in this past year?
The turning point was what has now become somewhat of a symbol of our restaurant, namely the Modena Safari menu and its 100% Made in Modena approach; this combined with the other menu, Emilia Vegetale, which shares its philosophy by expanding to the borders of Emilia. We have taken a new direction, and these two menus have allowed us to express ourselves and be understood even better by the area where we are. As anticipated earlier, it is not only the dishes and memories of the province, but there is not a single raw material, supplier or ingredient that is not from Modena. There is not a single vegetable in the vegetable that is not from Emilia.
Right now, we want to keep our feet on the ground, we have an extra reason to be responsible towards both the ownership, which has supported us so far, and the customers. That's why now is the time to consolidate, month after month: now there is the fall menu, and for us it is crucial to be in touch with seasonality.
What were the most important influences and how did these transfer into your style?
The offerings represent all of my past experiences, but my identity is becoming more and more defined, and I hope it comes across. In my last experience in Belgium at Zilte's, I learned a lot about lightness and freshness in the dish - that was very important, but being in Emilia, where they do a fatter, sweeter cuisine, that was the hardest part at first to ground in order to make customers better understand what we were trying to do.
It was certainly important to present the territorial elements in a modern and out-of-the-box way....
For sure, the impact on the customer reading the menu also makes it easier to read certain preparations or ingredients, even if there is complexity behind the dish. Modena Safari and the presence of reassuring elements have helped the most reluctant and most “scared” customers - although thinking about being scary may seem a bit strange (laughs, ed.). Then we are in Fiorano, which is not a big city, and we are inside a hotel: on the one hand it helps, because you draw from the guests, on the other hand less so, because in Italy outsiders still do not see it as normal to eat in a restaurant inside a hotel, as is normally the case abroad.
Who, then, is your typical customer?
Ours is a fairly diversified clientele, there is a pretty high incidence of young people, in their thirties and forties, but the good thing is that older people are also approaching us, that segment that is a bit more difficult for the kind of cooking we do.
In your culinary proposal, sustainability is a pivotal point: in what terms would you describe it?
Sustainability is first of all to reduce to a minimum, if not to zero, the waste part of the raw material we use. In terms of vegetable dishes I take as an example our absolute pumpkin, where we use from the pulp, to the seeds, to the peel, so that we get to consume everything. Or any animal, especially poultry that we take whole: from breast and thigh, to innards, to carcass, with as little impact on waste as possible.
Another key element is the fact that we work with suppliers very close to us, limiting vehicle travel and not going to get a product abroad or even from outside the region, no matter how good it is. This not only has a positive environmental impact but also enhances the concept of 100% Made in Modena to 360 degrees, because we really believe that excellence is potentially hidden behind the product, the work, the passion and the traditions we have around us; there is no need to force yourself to look for it elsewhere if you live in a region with 44 AOC and PGI products and the most beloved cuisine in the world. The French, in the wine world, have made it a religion.
You almost always use the plural, which is a good sign, including the concept of social sustainability and people's welfare. How important is teamwork?
I certainly wouldn't have gotten to the star on my own: even though sometimes we clash, we discord, maybe even argue, in the end we do it for a common goal; if we had always agreed, there would have been no growth. On each dish we spend a lot of time on it, until we find a square, and it doesn't have to be on my idea: we compare ourselves with everyone and figure out if the direction is right, not only of the individual dish, but also of what it's going to represent; the menu, the ideas, are the result of comparisons made with a team made up of the kitchen, the dining room, those who are in charge of communication and the management. I am a bit like the frontman of a band: alone I could not make music.
The same goes for the dining room team, because they too are present when we try the dishes; the last ones, moreover, are the people who have to go and tell the customers about the work, and they first and foremost have to be aware and conscious of what we do and be good at representing it. Last but not least, nothing would have been possible without our president Marcello Masi, who believed in us to the last with boundless trust.
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